Hinged book cover



Sept. 15, 1931. c. D. TRUSSELL HINGED BOOK CQVER Filed July 31. 1928 h ga&aa

. By Attorneys, @m Qm W w Patented Sept. 15, 1931 UNITED STATES aArEar ffifFiFlfCiE CLARENCE 1). TRUSSELL, 'oF roUenKnErsI-E, NEW Yon-K, ASSIGNOR To "TRUSSEEL MANUFACTURINGCOMPANY, oF'ro'oeHKE-EPsrn, n'Ew'Yo'nK, A "CORPORATION OF NEW YORK HINGED BOOK COVER Application filed July 31,

This invention relates to book covers of that type wherein the back and sides are :nnited by "hinge eyes and pintles at their junction. In previous applications I have set forth various constructions whereby the sides and'backs of leather or leatherdike ma- .terialare provided with metal hin e plates embedded'within thethickness of tlie mate .rial, with hinge eyes-appearing at the dges Hi of the back or sides where they are to be united by the usual pintle.

In: any-application Serial No.120,0-53, filed July2,1926, is set. forth-a construction where- 'in the curved back of the book has embedded 1.: within it ametal plate'h-avin hinge eyes emerging beyond the edges oft e back, and the sides havehinge plates inserted from the inner side into pockets, with-their eyes also emerging beyond a the edges in alternation so with those of the hinge plate in the back; the sides are first grooved, and. from the groove thexleatheris split in either direction toform the pocket; after the hinge plate is inserted, the groove may be closed to make a neat finish :5 by-filling it with astripof'leather which is cemented in place.

My application Serial No. 225,762, filed October'12,:1927, illustnates a similar method of-applying the hinge plates in the cover sides :min'this case, however, the hingeeyes do not protrude beyond the edges of the back and sides, butare themselves embedded in or covered by the leather or like material.

The present invention is adaptable to'either 573 of the constructions set forth in my said applications. It is characterized by the formation of the metal hinge plate with a rib which enters the groove formed inthe cover-side so as to close that groove, thus=forming a neat 4Q finish withoutthe necessity of gluing in a strip of leather, while also contributing to the stability of the structure.

My present invention also provides means fordrawing down and securely fastening the .flaps ofleather formingthe margins of the 1928. Serial No. 296,487.

pocketwhich receives the hinge plate, wher'eby: to avoid the necessity of .cementin'g'down these fiaps. To this end the @hinge :plate' is formed with'spurs or pointscstruck upfrom itat a'suitableangle, so; that whenitisxput in place and subiected to pressure, the spurs penetrate the leather and draw the .latter down fiat, embedding. themselves: in'the leatherrand making a smooth and'imperceptible finish.

Figure 1 OfLthe accoinnanying drawingsiis a fragmentary perspective View showing a portion of book cover constructediaccording to 'this invention, one "of the sides being'detached, and the view beinginsection to: more clearly show theconstruction.

- i ig..2 is a'perspective View of a port-ion of one of the hinge plates.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective View showing one way in which theplate maybe put in place.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustratingthe preparation of the leather cover material.

Referring tothe drawings, Awshows the rounded back of a book, andB, B,the'-'sides, these three elements being unitedxby'mechan-i cal hinges at their junction, the hinges being of the usual form with interlockin eye's'cen nected by a hinge wire or pintle ,tll;i2t$ is well understood. -The back-lands ides may be "A5 of leather or any similar'or suitable material. In the description I will assume that leather is used, it being understood t hatoanyrequi valent material or any leather substitute may be used instead.

The hinges are formed by means of hinge plates of sheet-metal embedded-in the back and side s. In the particular construction shown, the back is formed with xtwoihin'ge plates D, D, which meet edge to edge at the -i middle and at their outer sides are formed with the hinge eyes E, E. :The plates D, D, might be a single plate, as in my saidlapplication No. 11,20,053, but for certain constructions of loose leaf books itis preferable to 90 make them separate (as in my application No. 225,7 62, where they are united by turneddown ears or tongues a, a, to an inner springplate F which is itself a well-known element of loose-leaf binding mechanisms). In the particular construction shown, the back is on its inner side divided at Z), and is slitted therefrom in both directions to form a pocket, and the plates D, D, are inserted at the division or groove 12, the depth of the pockets being sufficient to receive the eyes on the plates. In the construction shown the eyes are embedded in the marginal portion 0 of leather, so as to conceal the hinge eyes, this being the construction shown in my said application No. 225,762; if it is not desired to conceal the hinge eyes, they may project beyond the leather, as shown in my said application No. 120,053.

The present invention relates more particularly to the hinge plates G, G, for the sides of the book. The leather of each side is first grooved in the manner set forth in my said previous applications. From the bottom of the groove the leather is then split in both directions, the leather thus prepared being as shown in Fig. 4, where the groove is lettered d, and the pockets formed by the slitting or splitting are lettered e and 7". These pockets may go to the extreme ends of the book, or may stop short thereof, as desired.

The plate G which is shown separately in Fig. 2 is formed with an abrupt corrugation or rib g, the position of which coincides with that of the groove d, so that when the parts are assembled, this rib will fill the groove. When thus located, as shown in Fig. 1, the rib should exactly fill the groove, its inner face lying flush with the inner face of the cover side, so as to make a neat finish.

It is desirable after inserting the hinge plate in the cover side, to fasten down the leather flaps formed in cutting the pockets. To do this by means of glue or cement is a somewhat difficult and troublesome operation which must be performed by hand. It is desirable to substitute for it an easy and effective means for fastening down these leather flaps, which can be more rapidly and cheaply performed by a machine operation. For this purpose I provide the plate. G with one or more rows of spurs h, h, as shown in Fig. 2, these spurs being adapted to enter the leather of the flaps near the margins thereof, and under pressure which may be applied when the flaps have been smoothed down in place, to penetrate the flaps and hold them down against the plate. The size and shape of the spurs is important in order to secure the best results. The spurs should be nearly enough perpendicular so that they will assuredly enter the leather, and yet should incline enough so that as they enter the leather they will tend to partially fold down toward the plate and will thereby force their way into the leather and hold it securely down. Another function of the inclined spurs is to draw the leather tight, so as to prevent any looseness or any ridging of the leather on the inner side of the cover. Thus the spurs on entering the leather tip over slightly in direction toward the rib g, and consequently draw the leather away from the bottom of the pockets on either side, so as to strain the leather against the hinge eyes on the one side, or the edge of the metal plate on the other side. This result is best attained by making the plate an exact fit for the pocket, which can be readily accomplished when the pockets are cut by machinery to fit the plates.

The plate G may be made fiat, as shown in Fig. 2,.or it may be struck up initially in angular form, as shown in Fig. 3. The latter shape facilitates insertion in the pockets, and is especially desirable when the pockets are closed at their ends. The plate being inserted, the leather flaps are drawn closely parallel with the plate, and the cover side is then placed in a press and subjected to pressure which flattens the side, and in so doing causes the spurs to enter the marginal portions of the pocket flaps and draw them tight.

For either operation the same result is produced, the final construction being as shown in Fig. 1.

I am aware that metal spurs have been used to fasten a metal plate to leather, but believe it to be new to apply these spurs for fastening the flaps or marginal portions of a pocket, and also that it is new to apply inclined spurs so that in entering the leather they will bend down under pressure and draw the leather tight.

My invention is not necessarily limited'to the precise construction shown and described, but is subject to a reasonable latitude of variation within the scope of the appended claims. 7

I claim as my invention:

' 1. In a hinged book cover, the cover material formed with a groove on one side and with a pocket communicating with the groove, and a metal plate inserted in said pocket and having a rib entering said groove.

2. In a hinged book cover, the cover material formed with a groove on one side and with pockets extending to opposite sides of, and communicating with, the groove, and a metal plate inserted within said pockets and having a rib entering said groove.

3. In a hinged book cover, the cover material formed with a groove on one side and with pockets on opposite sides of said groove, and a metal plate inserted in said pockets having a rib filling said groove, and formed with spurs adjacent said rib adapted to enter the marginal portion of the cover material and hold it securely adjacent said r'ib.

4. In a book cover comprising an integral material split to form a pocket within its thickness, the opening to said pocket formed as'an incision in the material and the pocket extending to both sides of such incision, and a metal plate inserted in said pocket, said plate formed With two parallel series of spurs extending on opposite sides of such incision, adapted under pressure to enter said material and to become bent down therein, and the respective series adapted to fasten down against the plate the respective flaps on 0pposite sides of said incision.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

CLARENCE D. TRUS SELL. 

